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Simulation
Streamlines in a regenerative glass furnace © GWI

More than just colorful pictures

Few technologies have evolved as dramatically over the past decades as computer technology. The effects are felt everywhere, both in everyday life and in industry. Numerical flow simulations (CFD: computational fluid dynamics) are now routinely used not only in research but also in industry for analysis, design, and optimization of process engineering plants and processes. They offer insights that are hardly possible or only achievable with great effort using measurement technology. 

GWI has been utilizing the possibilities of modern simulation methods, especially so-called CFD methods, for years, both within the framework of public research projects and in industrial cooperations. By combining measurement investigations with numerical flow simulations, processes and plants can be holistically analyzed and optimized. 

A focus of GWI's simulation activities lies in the area of numerical flow simulation of thermoprocess technology plants, such as those in the metal, glass, or ceramic industriesi. In such plants, where energy can be converted in the MW range, turbulent flow, convective and radiative heat transfer mechanisms, and the chemical processes of combustion and pollutant formation all interact. With the help of numerical methods and modeling approaches, such complex systems can be simulated, analyzed, and thus optimized, for example, in terms of energy efficiency or a reduction in pollutant emissions. The combined use of measurement and simulation methods allows the respective advantages of both methods to be exploited to holistically capture and analyze the complex relationships in technical combustion processes. Continuous comparison of data and results from simulation and measurement in-house ensures the reliability of the simulation results. In this way, insights validated on the test bench can be reliably transferred to specific plants on an industrial scale. 

Especially for questions arising in the context of decarbonization of process heat, CFD simulations are an essential tool: for example, they can simulate the effects of a fuel change from natural gas to hydrogen on the computer to detect changes, evaluate them, and develop suitable compensation approaches in advance. Given the complexity of such large industrial plants and the associated costs and risks, CFD simulations are an essential tool for energy-intensive industries to meet changing requirements. 

 

Reaction kinetics Laminar combustion rates CH4 vs H2 © GWI

In addition to CFD simulations, where flow and combustion processes are represented in real three-dimensional geometries, GWI also uses reaction kinetic simulations. Here, combustion processes are depicted in extremely abstracted model geometries but with very detailed reaction kinetic mechanisms. In this way, new fuels such as hydrogen (H2) or ammonia (NH3) can be characterized, and effects concerning pollutant formation or ignition behavior can be estimated with little effort. 

 

Comparison between measured and simulated CO2 concentrations during natural gas-oxygen combustion © GWI
Visualization of the flame front using OH* chemiluminescence and CFD simulation © GWI
CFD simulation of an oxy fuel aluminum smelting furnace with natural gas and hydrogen as fuels © GWI